


fairy lights and snowball fights

by amybri2002



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Christmas fic, Fluff, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-26
Updated: 2020-12-26
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:21:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,401
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28342326
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amybri2002/pseuds/amybri2002
Summary: The gang spend Christmas Eve together.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 21
Collections: Sanders Sides 2020 Gift Exchange, TSS Fanworks Collective





	fairy lights and snowball fights

**Author's Note:**

> hey! this is a gift as part of a secret santa exchange for @spooky-spooks-and-all-the-spooks on tumblr, i really hope that you enjoy this <3

Roman added the last few details to his handmade gifts, a sprinkle of glitter here and there, inked names in beautiful calligraphy on the front of each envelope, each gift placed in a little bag. A few bookmarks for Logan, a snow globe for Patton, a small snake ornament for Janus, some bracelets for Virgil, and a short horror story for Remus. He’d been working on these for the past few weeks (although _most_ of the work had been done over the last couple of days - procrastination at it’s finest) and now they were all _perfect_. Just needed to tape up the gift bags and put them under their tree, and then- 

There was a knock on the door, and Roman sighed. “What don’t you people understand about closed doors and being busy?” 

“It’s Christmas Eve, kiddo,” a voice said on the other side of the door - Patton. “You shouldn’t be working right now.” 

“I’m just-“ He sighed again, pushing the presents under his bed and standing up off the floor, going over to open the door. “Sorry for snapping at you, I was just… finishing something off. I’m basically done now, anyway. What do you want?” 

Patton was wearing a full winter coat, and a Santa hat on his head, some snowflakes drawn on his cheeks in eyeliner - Virgil did that, probably. “We’re all going out,” he announced. “There’s a little market in town, thought it would be nice to spend the day there.” 

Roman smiled a little. That… actually sounded rather nice. “Alright then. Give me a few minutes to get ready.” 

“Of course!” Patton grinned, and then moved away, further into the apartment. 

Ten or so minutes passed before Roman was ready, and the six of them left their shared apartment, heading out into the town. Roman vaguely remembered seeing advertisements for the market - a craft fair, along with a few attractions. In all honesty, Roman hadn’t been planning on attending, far more concerned about preparing for Christmas the next day, but… it was nice to get out of the apartment, at least. 

When they arrived at the market, Roman was immediately grateful for tagging along. Cute little wooden stalls lined the street, fake snow stapled on top of each one, with lights strung up between street lamps and a perfectly decorated Christmas tree at the end. Handcrafted decorations and gifts were available to buy from each vendor, as well as food, the faint smell of barbecue in the air. Music surrounded the area - a live band near the tree. 

Roman really couldn’t help but smile as he looked around. He went up to a few stalls, complimenting the salespeople on their handiwork, buying a few small things to show his appreciation for them. His friends seemed to be enjoying themselves as well, all walking around and looking at things themselves - apart from Virgil and Logan, who appeared to have disappeared. Huh. He tried not to think about that, they were probably fine. 

For now, Roman decided to enjoy the festivities, the music, time spent with the people he cared most about. 

~*~ 

Virgil had told Patton that bringing him here was a bad idea. Obviously, Patton had just laughed that off and Virgil had come anyway, with the promise of ‘it’ll be fun’ and ‘we don’t wanna leave you out, kiddo’. 

And Virgil had believed him. He knew he probably would have fun, that he was just overthinking everything, like usual. And he didn’t want the others to feel bad leaving him at home, and he _definitely_ didn’t want to feel like he was missing out on something, like they were leaving him behind. So he came, and… it was alright, to begin with. The group arrived quite close to the opening time, so there weren’t that many people around, and he was happy enough to silently drift from stall to stall. 

Until it became too much, too crowded, and he began to feel like he was suffocating. 

Without a single word to his friends, Virgil escaped from the crowd, not really paying attention to where he was going, heart beginning to pound in his chest, until he found himself sitting on a bench in a quiet area, the music from the market still in the distance but very faint, a few footsteps walking around but not nearly as many people as before. 

After taking a few moments to himself, breathing in and out, wrapping his hoodie tighter around him (it really wasn’t warm enough, he should have actually put on a coat or something, but he refused to give up his aesthetic), Virgil stood up, beginning to walk around this area. There were still a few stalls littered around, a few children playing a game of tag in the centre. He was in a park, by the looks of it - a pair of swings and a slide were hidden away in one corner, along with trees surrounding the area, fairy lights strung up between them. 

He began to wander around, eventually coming across a stall containing a few necklaces, each with a different jewel charm. He smiled a little looking at them, watching the way the fairy lights around him seemed to reflect in the jewel’s surfaces, and decided to buy one for each of his friends - they were on offer anyway, if you brought five of them together - matching up the jewels with their favourite colours, and decorations with how he thought of them. They all seemed like a perfect match. 

After paying for the gifts, he felt a hand land on his shoulder and tensed, heart beginning to pound again as he tried to figure out what was happening, who was there, if someone was trying to attack him, kidnap him- 

“Virgil,” a voice said, smooth and calming. Logan’s voice. Virgil calmed down, shoulders relaxing, and turned to face Logan, offering him a smile. “Sorry, I… must have scared you there.” 

Virgil shook his head. “Nah, it’s chill,” he dismissed, buying his hands in his pockets. 

“I was quite worried when I noticed that you were missing from the group,” Logan said, narrowing his gaze. Virgil seemed to shrink in on himself, to which Logan quickly clarified, “Don’t worry, I’m not mad. Just wanted to check that you were alright.” 

“Ah.” Virgil glanced around the area, looking anywhere but Logan’s eyes. “Well, no need to worry, I’m fine. Just got a little overwhelmed.” 

Logan nodded. “That’s perfectly understandable, I’m aware you don’t do well in crowds.” 

“Well…” Virgil sighed. “I did try to warn Patton.” 

“I know,” Logan said. “We can go back though, if you want.” 

Virgil’s eyes widened again at that. 

“Or we can stay here,” Logan said, voice softening. “Whatever you want. I can stay right by your side, though, I promise.” 

Virgil hesitated for a moment, before looking at Logan. “Can we stay here a little longer? Then go back later?” 

Logan nodded, the ends of his lips tilting up into a loose smile. “Of course.” 

Virgil smiled back. 

~*~ 

“Listen, sweetheart, I-“ 

“I’ll tell you one more time, this is a food truck, we do not take haggles here-“ 

A nervous laughter erupted besides him, and a hand landed on his arm. “Sorry about my friend, he can get a little carried away. Here.” Patton handed the teenager behind the counter some cash, took the group's food, and then led a very annoyed Janus away. “Janus, how many times have I told you that you can’t bargain with people like that.” 

Janus rolled his eyes, smirking a little. “I was just having a little fun. I would have given them full price anyway.” 

“Still.” Patton frowned at Janus, clearly trying to look intimidating, but all Janus could do was hold back laughter. His expression soon softened. “Remind me to never let you buy the food again.” 

The two eventually ended up with the rest of the group by the side of the market, sitting around on a group of benches. Virgil and Logan had returned at this point, although hadn’t said anything about their sudden disappearance, instead sitting to one side and whispering something between each other. Roman and Remus were having some sort of very animated argument, although immediately looked over as Janus and Patton returned with the food, whatever brawl that was going on between them vanishing. 

As the six of them ate in silence, the air around them grew colder and, eventually, snowflakes began to fall around them. More and more fell, at an exponential rate, until eventually the group decided to seek cover, waiting for it to slow. An hour or so passed, the group talking between themselves, until it mostly stopped snowing, a layer of snow lining the street and park beyond. Patton and Remus decided that the only suitable course of action from there was to drag the others to the park and engage in a snowball fight, which… 

Well, Janus wasn’t all too pleased. The snow was cold and wet and, as much as he liked to have the opportunity to throw projectiles at his flatmates as petty revenge for, say, leaving dirty dishes in the sink for him to clean up all by himself, even when it was clearly marked that it was Roman’s turn to wash up, he didn’t particularly enjoy being on the other end of that. But still, he engaged in their ‘game’, and… did find himself laughing as it progressed. 

Eventually, it began to grow dark, and Janus became colder and colder. As much as Janus tried to convince him not too as to prevent him from freezing to death himself, Remus took off his jacket and wrapped it around Janus, noticing how much he was shivering, and… it was appreciated, Janus supposed. As was Patton’s plan to go inside for a while and warm up, have a nice hot drink. Janus pulled Remus’ coat tighter around him and followed the group, a smile still prevalent on his face. He had to admit that, yes, this was… nice. 

~*~ 

Patton found a small café in the area, quiet but still open to customers, a fire crackling on one wall, fairy lights strung up above the tables. The group gathered around a couple tables in the corner by a bookshelf - which Logan immediately raided after gaining permission to do so by the owners of the café - and ordered a hot chocolate each. 

Virgil moved over towards the window, watching the snow fall gracefully against the night sky, with Janus close by, although he appeared to be watching passerbys more, laughing as a few slipped on the icy path. Logan read aloud to Roman and Remus sat close to him, some fairytale they had chosen for him, although a pile of sciency books laid beside him for when he was done, which Patton knew he would enjoy. Patton just sat alone and observed this all, a fond look in his eyes as he watched his best friends, all having a nice time. 

He was glad he’d invited them all out with him. Of course, he’d been planning to come to the market anyway for some (extremely last minute) Christmas shopping, but it was so much nicer having his- his _family_ with him, the people he cared about most. It made him so happy to see all their happy faces, to see them having a good time, to know that his plans had made a positive impact on them, that… it could make them feel better. 

He’d noticed how Roman and Logan had been shut off in his room for the past couple days (he also knew the reason for that was because they were busy working on projects, but he still missed seeing their faces around the flat), and how Remus and Virgil had begun to get a little antsy just sat around in the apartment, waiting, and how Janus had been making himself so busy around the apartment, cooking everyone breakfast and cleaning something all the time, never giving himself a moment of rest. They all needed this, to wind down before the big day tomorrow. And Patton had been so, so happy to provide that escape. 

Their hot chocolates arrived, topped with marshmallows and whipped cream and a dashing of cocoa powder, and the group lapsed into silence as they began to drink. It was pretty good hot chocolate, actually, but then again Patton wasn’t sure if he’d ever had _bad_ hot chocolate. It warmed up his insides, and made him happy to see the others enjoying it too, even if Virgil ducked in embarrassment as he went to wipe off some of the drink that stained his upper lip (he still smiled, and Patton decided to focus on that instead). Even after they finished, the group stayed silent for a while, relaxed. 

Eventually, Patton spoke up, voice quiet at first. “I love you all so much, you know that, right?” 

All eyes flicked up to him, smiles growing on each of his friends’ faces - more noticeable on the twins, although even Logan was smiling properly, which was… rare. 

“Thank you for coming along,” he continued. “I’ve… had such a great time, hanging out with y’all.” 

“Patton, we live together,” Logan pointed out, frowning just a little. “We see each other every day.” 

“I-I know, but-“ 

“I get what you mean,” Virgil chimed in. “We’re happy to hang out with you as well. Thank you for being a part of our lives.” 

Silence again for a moment as Patton’s heart seemed to flutter out of his chest, so, so happy, before Janus cleared his throat. “Well, the nights not over yet, I’m sure we could find something else to do before we head home.” 

Besides him, Remus’ eyes lit up. “I have an idea.” 

~*~ 

Remus dragged the others to the other side of town, smile growing wide when he spotted it - the ice rink, open for the last night before it closed again until next year. Roman and Janus seemed to share Remus’ enthusiasm for this - they’d done a show together once on ice, meaning they were both well versed in skating - and immediately rushed over to pay and get some skates on, whilst the other three seemed… less keen on the idea. 

“Yeah, no thanks, don’t feel like falling on my face and embarrassing myself in front of tons of people,” Virgil said, already starting to back away. 

“Oh, c’mon, Virgil, it’s not that bad!” Remus tried to encourage him. “There aren’t even that many people.” 

“Yup, so I won’t be able to fade into the crowd as much, meaning it’s even more likely that someone will see, meaning-“ 

“Virgil, we can sit together on the side, if you want,” Patton offered, displaying an understanding smile. 

Virgil frowned. “I… don’t want you to miss out on having fun, though.” 

“I don’t particularly want to skate either, you know how clumsy I am.” He laughed a little. “I’ll have plenty of fun watching the others.” 

Virgil hesitated a moment, before slowly nodding, and the four of them went over to join Roman and Janus, Remus immediately heading onto the ice and Logan following a little reluctantly, whilst Virgil and Patton sat to one side, skates ready if they wanted to come on but no pressure to do so, of course. Remus couldn’t help but be a _little_ disappointed that they wouldn’t join, but he shrugged it off, knowing that this wasn’t exactly for everyone. 

Remus, however, _loved_ skating. You probably wouldn’t assume so upon seeing him, but… he had a sort of natural talent, he supposed. There was something about it that thrilled him, twirling around on the ice, perfectly balanced, unlike the people falling over around him. Perhaps that was another appeal - watching people falling over never failed to put a smile on Remus’ face, which was probably something wrong with him but he’d take any serotonin he could get. 

Roman and Janus on the other side of the rink seemed to be enjoying themselves as well, dancing around one another, Roman stumbling a few times due to lack of practise but managing fairly well. Logan was… well, at least he was trying, although most of the time when Remus looked over he was clinging onto the side for dear life, barely even managing to stay upright even with the extra support. Remus couldn’t help but chuckle at that. 

Even better, eventually Virgil plucked up the courage to join him, Patton staying close by his side, holding onto his arm with the promise that, “Then if you fall, I’ll fall as well,” when really Remus was pretty certain Patton just wanted some extra support. Remus ended up skating next to the two of them, and later Logan when they caught up with him. He showed off a little, yeah, but the others seemed impressed, laughing and giggling, even as they all fell themselves. 

Eventually, though, the six of them got off the rink and, as the day steadily turned into night, they headed back to their apartment, smiles still bright. 

~*~ 

The group arrived back at their apartment a little past eight in the evening, most of them slumping down in the living room, exhausted but not wanting to part quite yet, instead sitting by a fire that Patton quickly lit. Logan, meanwhile, headed into the kitchen to begin to make a small meal for them all - soup he’d prepared the day before, that just needed heating a little, as well as some warm bread. He could hear excited chittering from the living room, and, after around twenty minutes or so, a voice calling his name. 

Sighing, Logan checked the soup once more to make sure it would be fine for a few minutes, then turned, heading into the living room. 

“Logan!” Roman shouted again, a wide grin across his face. “A proposal for you - we all open one gift now.” 

Logan frowned. “Well, that’s highly untraditional, I thought we were exchanging presents tomorrow-“ 

“Just one!” Roman repeated. “Like... we all draw names out of a hat and give them their present.” 

Logan hummed for a moment in thought. The others were looking at him expectedly - perhaps they’d all already agreed. He sighed. “Fine, I... suppose that would be nice. Should we get some food in us first, though?” 

The five of them nodded, and Logan returned to the kitchen, dishing up the soup and bread and soon handing it all out. They all ate their meal in not-quite-silence, all whispering and giggling about something or other, and even Logan managed a smile. The soup was pretty nice, as well - one of his better soups, Logan thought, although Patton was probably the much better cook. Patton had been the one to make the bread, and it was delicious, as always. 

Once everyone was finished and Patton and Virgil returned from washing up, the six flatmates gathered in the centre of the living room and each drew a name from Janus’ hat, going into their respective rooms to retrieve their gift for that person. They then sat down and went around the circle, each opening their gift: from Logan to Patton, a cookbook, complete with Logan’s own little notes; from Roman to Logan, some handmade bookmarks, some with doodles of planets and stars and others decorated with some structures of organic compounds; from Patton to Remus, a few dinosaur toys encased in slime, which he immediately got out to start messing around with the slime; from Remus to Virgil, a horror book, written and bound by Remus himself; from Janus to Roman, a couple posters of some Broadway musicals that they’d been to see together; and from Virgil to Janus, a necklace with a yellow jewel, along with snake charm to attach to it, one that Virgil had made himself. 

After chatting a while longer, thanking each other and saying how great their day had been, the group slowly began to disperse, heading up to bed. Or, well... retreating to their rooms at least, as much as Logan wanted to believe they all went to bed at a regular time it was only around ten at night, and most of them stayed up a whole lot later. Logan himself immediately went to get ready to sleep, although he did read a little before he drifted off, peaceful. 

A good day, overall. A wonderful way to spend Christmas Eve, with his... family.


End file.
